The invention relates to data transmission through a network with a data transmission apparatus having keys for designating a destination.
In a network environment, a data transmission apparatus such as a personal computer or a network device such as a facsimile apparatus can send data of a document or an image as an internet fax or directly to another personal computer or the like. When such data is sent attached to an electronic mail (or e-mail), it is necessary to describe an e-mail address for the destination. However, an operation for inputting an e-mail address with an operation panel or the like is bothersome, and an e-mail may not be delivered due to an erroneous input of the e-mail address.
A one-touch dial is used widely for a facsimile apparatus or the like. Once a telephone number (facsimile number) is registered manually at a one-touch dial, the telephone number can be inputted with one operation by using the one-touch dial (for example Japanese Patent laid open Publication 11-68914/1999), Thus, the procedure for setting the destination is simplified, and this relieves the bothersome manual input operation.
Further, it is known to provide a table for registering destination information in an external server, which a personal computer or a network device accesses to retrieve and set a desired destination as a destination for a transmission. For example, in a facsimile system described in Japanese Patent laid open Publication H11-215291/1999, destination information is stored in a telephone directory provided in a computer connected to the facsimile system. An address is retrieved in the telephone directory including a name of an addressee, a facsimile number thereof and an e-mail address thereof. When characters to be retrieved are inputted and a retrieve key is pressed by a user in the facsimile apparatus, the result of retrieval is presented in a liquid crystal display device. If the information is captured into the facsimile apparatus, the transmission to the addressee can be performed easily. However, it takes a long time for a user to access the telephone directory to designate a destination for each transmission.
Further, when destination information such as an e-mail address or a facsimile number is changed but the change is not reflected in the table for registering the destination information, a transmission may happen to be sent erroneously to the old address. Then, it is proposed to update the destination information periodically. In a network system shown in Japanese Patent laid open Publication 2001-249882, destinations of all the devices including for example a server and a multi-functional peripheral stored in a table are updated for example periodically. In a network shown in Japanese Patent laid open Publication 2002-232663, a database of one-touch abbreviated group dialing information is provided in a database server. A user of a personal computer can access the database in order to register, change or delete a one-touch abbreviated group dialing information. Each time the database is accessed, the database information is updated, and the facsimile apparatus accesses the database, for example, periodically to update the information registered to the one-touch buttons provided in the facsimile apparatus.
However, in a facsimile apparatus using the information registered to the one-touch keys in the database server which is updated periodically, a transmission to an old address for a one-touch key may happen when the destination information was changed but not yet registered to the one-touch key. On the other hand, if the update interval is shortened, a traffic in the network is increased.